Friday, December 24, 2010

Our new "stroller" in the mountains




Yesterday we introduced the girls to a toboggan. We pulled them around and they really enjoyed it. Devin even pulled me with the girls. After the girls wake up from their nap today, we're taking them to another town that has more snow and more hills. I'll let you know how that goes!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Kate and Lily in Redstone, CO




Hope everyone is having a good week!

Friday, December 17, 2010

Kate and Lily meet Santa!

 We headed to the downtown Neiman Marcus yesterday afternoon and took the girls to see Santa Claus. No lines and they did pretty well. Kate got upset but Lily could have sat in his lap all day.

 Glad we got it done yesterday because we leave for Redstone, CO (near Aspen) tomorrow morning and won't be back until after Christmas. Hope everyone has a safe and wonderful Christmas and we'll be sure to post lots of pictures of the girls in their snow suits in the snow!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Last minute Christmas gifts

I really didn't get the girls much for Christmas other than a ton of books and some bath toys. I know they are going to be incredibly spoiled by everyone else that loves them and they are still figuring out the whole gift thing. Example of being spoiled, our sweet neighbors next door gave them Neiman Marcus cashmere hats so their little heads will stay warm when we go to Colorado for Christmas. I want one!

Since the girls are currently obsessed with dragging anything with a cord around the house, I decided to get them a toy that will do the same function. And since they tend to fight over things they both want, I got them two!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Christmas has begun!

GiGi and Papa came over Saturday and gave the girls their first Christmas presents. We won't see them until New Years this year because we'll be spending Christmas in Colorado with Devin's family. It was a short visit but we had a really good time. Kate and Lily got some new pajamas for Christmas that are absolutely adorable and they also got talking elmo and cookie monster dolls. They still don't really understand the whole process of gift giving, and of course can't say thank you yet, but it's still fun to watch them get excited over new things.



Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Petit Frere HOLIDAY BLOWOUT sale!

I wanted to post details about a great warehouse sale by Petit Frere Wednesday, December 8th. Their clothes are so cute and a mother of twins started the line here in Dallas. I've seen their items in boutiques in Shreveport and Memphis while visiting family and they are pretty pricey. However, at these sales you can get precious applique dresses and sets for $5-$10. Obviously I'm shopping for girls, but they also have cute jon-jons and applique shirts for boys. If you're in or around Dallas, you should definitely check this out!

Details for the sale:
Join us for our final sale of 2010 and stock up on Holiday gifts for everyone on your list.  We will have our $5 and $10 items with new things we haven't had at the sales before.  Also, our Fall 2010 holiday items will be 20% off of already deeply discounted retail prices.


We hope you can make it and do your holiday shopping with us! 

Address:
Central Falls Warehouse 
Garland, TX 75041
***It is literally in a warehouse so don't be surprised when you pull up. 

Kate and Lily are 14 months!

 I think it's safe to say that Kate and Lily are starting to become two little busy toddlers. They are into everything and are getting to be so fast! This last month was pretty hard because we were sick most of it. From the infamous hand foot mouth, to the stomach bug that wiped the whole family out the week before Thanksgiving, we've all been a little fussy to say the least. Oh, and Lily is getting all 4 of her molars at the same time. Kate is currently getting 2.
 So what's new: The girls are starting to become picky eaters. I'm hoping this is just a stage or has to do with being sick. They used to eat whatever I gave them and now they have an opinion which means if they don't want it, they throw it on the floor. We're starting to learn the word "no" and we're not so sure we like it. We're also having a little trouble learning to share but I've been told they don't really learn that until 3 or so. If anyone has a good book on parenting/disciplining they would like to recommend, please share! As you can see in the picture below it was Kate's turn to get in the swing and Lily was not happy about it.

 Both girls are truly mama's girls. They are all over me right now which is so sweet but makes things very hard when you only have two hands and one lap to comfort two babies.
Kate and Lily are really starting to babble and talk and it's so sweet! Our current vocabulary consists of mama., dada, ba-ba, dog, shoe and bye-bye. I love their sweet little voices! They also have some words they say to one another that we don't quite understand. Wondering if this is their own little language I've heard about?? Our most favorite place to be is outside. They love to explore and walk around and play in the yard. We've also started watching an episode of Baby Einstein once a day and they are really into it. I hate putting them in front of a tv at this age, but they really are learning from it. They can now point and play peek a boo and they picked that up from one of the episodes. Plus it helps me a ton so that I can make their dinner during their 5p-6p fussy hour. My most favorite thing they've started doing is hugging. It's not often, but it's absolutely wonderful!
We are now drinking from cups and it's been nice to pack away the bottles. We went cold turkey and it was a huge success. Kate caught on after 30 minutes and it took Lily 48 hours without milk to finally switch to the cup. It worked though and I'm a huge fan. This month I'm going to look at consolidating their naps. They are really good sleepers and currently still take two naps, one from 9:30a-11a and another from 2:30p-4p. I really would prefer for them to continue taking two naps so that I can have the free time, but they're starting to talk and play more and more at the beginning and I can tell it's getting time to consolidate. We'll see how that goes. Here's hoping for a very healthy next month!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Christmas cards from Shutterfly!

I went Fort Worth last night to have dinner with Courtney. We started talking about how excited we are for Christmas and she mentioned that she had just finished addressing ALL of her Christmas cards before I got there. Made me feel behind! She ordered her Christmas Cards from Shutterfly and is so happy with them! I had already planned to order our Christmas Cards from them because their prices are so reasonable and they make it so easy. Here are a few that I'm in love with. Please help me decide! I'm currently leaning towards the first one and the last one from the options below. I plan on getting this super cute coordinating address labels as well.




There are so many to choose from and to make things even better, I will get 50 free cards for this post. That will put a huge dent in my list. If you're a blogger and are looking for free Christmas Cards or invitations for a holiday event, go here. Thank you, Shutterfly! Now all I have to do is decide what picture to use!

Friday, November 12, 2010

What's been going on.....

I haven't blogged in forever and we've actually had a lot going on.

1. I was a soccer mom for Halloween and made myself a pretty cute shirt if I do say so myself. Devin and I went to an engagement/costume party for our friends Laura and Alex and we had so much fun.

2. Kate and Lily got hand foot and mouth at Mothher's Day out a few weeks ago and we're just now recovering. While getting the girls checked out, our Pediatrician examined Lily's ear and we found out she had an ear infection as well. We have had some very, very rough days/nights the last few weeks but are now fully recovered (I think!).

3. I got a sewing machine and just ordered my very first pattern. It's for a peasant dress and I'm going to attempt to create one this weekend. I got the pattern here and as you can see there are tons of other things I want to sew. Really hoping I've found some sort of calling here!

4. Devin got me a very special anniversary gift that really surprised me. It's this bracelet from David Yurman and he had a very sweet story to go along with it about how one part was Kate, one was Lily, and one was him, and I'm the part that holds everything together. Not sure if that makes sense to you, but it made perfect sense to me and was so special.
5. I have already started my Christmas shopping and am almost through AND haven't stepped one foot in the mall. Yay!

6. I'm so excited to see my family at Thanksgiving. We'll be in Memphis this year at my brother Jeff and Jenny's. Can't wait to eat some amazing food!

7. And last but not least, Happy Birthday Catherine Traylor!


Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Two Little Princesses

Kate and Lily are too young to trick-or-treat, but we still dressed up and passed out candy to other kids in the neighborhood. We already had princess gear so the girls were set. Can't wait until next year when the girls actually get candy because I secretly want to steal some!



Saturday, October 30, 2010

Happy 2nd Halloween and 13 months!

Kate and Lily are another month old. Last year they were one month on their first Halloween. They were so tiny!

This year they are 13 months and ALL over the place. Kate is doing so well walking and Lily has been walking for over a month now. I can't believe how fast they are. They both love being outside and they also really enjoy taking baths now. We're currently working on no standing in the tub. I'm pretty sure they understand what I'm saying but are choosing to ignore me. We're having a little bit of a struggle weaning them from their bottles. They have been using a sippy cup since they were about 7 months old but have never really taken to it. I guess in part because I haven't forced the issue. Lily has been sick this week but I'm going to pack up the bottles next week and try going cold turkey. I already feel weak! Kate has drank all her milk from a cup twice now and Lily just throws her cup at me. It's hard because I can't give Kate a cup and Lily a bottle because Kate would prefer the bottle and gets upset. I got some advice from another mother of twins and she was able to make the switch by going cold turkey in a week. Wish me luck. It could be a very long week!

We are also starting to have lap babies on our hands, especially Lily. I secretly love it but it does become a problem when I can't get up to do anything because they want me on the floor holding them. As for food, the girls are really good eaters. They love sweet potato fries, salmon stix, chicken nuggets, cottage cheese green beans, apple sauce, strawberries, tomatoes, yogurt, cheerios and we just tried butternut squash last night and it was a hit. I've started letting them play around with spoons at dinner. It gets very messy so luckily bath time is next. As for sizes, both girls are currently wearing size 12M and some 18M, depending on the brand. They're in size 3 diapers and size 6-12M shoes. Here's another picture of Kate doing her hair. She brushes and then tries to put her bow in. Cracks me up!


 This age is so much fun and I seriously can't wait to see what the next few months bring. Can you imagine having two little talking girls. I have a feeling things are about to get crazy around here!


Thursday, October 28, 2010

Happy FOUR Year Anniversary!

 Today is Devin and my 4 year anniversary. I immediately think about where we were last year and things have gotten so much easier. Last year we had two one month old baby girls and we were getting about 3 hours of sleep a night, all broken up. This year we have big plans to grill a nice meal outside and enjoy the wonderful weather on our new deck. I bought all kinds of great food from Central Market and can't wait to cook! We already took a celebratory trip to Napa Valley last weekend. My parents babysat and we had such a wonderful relaxing time touring vineyards and eating amazing food. We are so lucky to have my parents so close. They are amazing!


Our first trip to Napa was for our 2 year anniversary and we pretty much just bounced around. This year I really planned where we would go and eat so we had reservations and appointments at a lot of places that you can't just walk in, hence the wine was much better! Here's a list of where we went...a little reference for when we go back maybe in another 2 years!


Cakebread Cellars was our first stop. They are known for their Chardonnay but we fell in love with their own special red blend called Rubaiyat. It's a blend of Pinot Noir, Syrah, Zinfandel and Petit Sirah and they make such a limited amount that you can only buy it at their vineyard. I think we might have this bottle with our dinner tonight!

We made a quick stop at Folie a Deux for a tasting. This wasn't on our agenda but we had some extra time. I don't remember much about this place but I do buy their wine at my local Tom Thumb.

We then headed for some sparkling wine at Mumm Napa. We really enoyed their Cuvee M, which is a little more sweet. It's very easy to buy this at our local liquor stores and I'm very glad I now know what kind of champagne I really like. By the way, you can't call it champagne unless it's from France. That's why it's called sparkling wine.
We ended our first day in Napa at Elizabeth Spencer, our favorite vineyard from our visit in 2008. We only have one bottle left from that visit and it's from here. It's a boutique winery located in the old Napa post office 2007. It's so cute and we met lots of nice people there like we did during our previous visit. We bought a bottle of their  Petit Sirah and a bottle of their Chenin Blanc.

We then took a tour at Del Dotto Vinyards in St. Helena. This was by far the best tour we went on. They took us through their caves lined with Italian marble and ancient tiles. It was by candlelight and they got the wine for the tasting right our of the barrel. The caves were pitch black lined with small white candles. This vineyard was voted best tour and we agreed. Unfortunately, no cameras allowed inside but you can see a picture below of the outside.

While at Del Dotto we met some people from Texas that recommended Fleury, and we're so glad they did! We dropped in with no appointment and they managed to squeeze us in to one of their private tasting rooms. We had a lot of fun and ended up buying some of their wine. We left with their 2006 Lauren Bryce Cabernet (named after their children) and a bottle of their 2004 Port. I know most people don't like Port, but I love it!


We had such a nice trip and it was so nice to be away with Devin- even though we missed our girls so much and talked about them non-stop!

Monday, October 25, 2010

The Dallas Zoo

I took the girls to the zoo last week and we had such a nice afternoon. We got a family membership to the zoo from grandparents (Devin's parents) as well as our Aunt Melissa, Uncle Chris and our cousins, Grayson and Sloane. Such a nice gift! The highlight of the visit was riding the carousel. I'm sure you're wondering how we were able to maneuver two one year olds on a moving ride with horses, but we pulled it off. A nice man with an older son helped and also took pictures of the girls on their first ride. Side note- someone asked where I got their outfits. The pants are from Petit Frere and Petit Souer. A woman in Dallas started the line and she distributes to small boutiques around the area. She has lots of warehouse sales where she sells her off season items. I'll post the next sale when I get the information for those in the Dallas area. Super cute things! As for the shirts, I ordered the solid shirt and  had them monogrammed. However, I have an embroidery machine on order as well as a box of "blank" items waiting to be monogrammed. If all goes well I plan on posting things to customize at reasonable prices. We shall see!